Today's interviewee has been involved with some of my favorite recent TV comedies, "Arrested Development," "Kroll Show," (for which he was a co-executive producer and is an executive producer, respectively) and "Portlandia" (for which he has  consulted). He also makes some occasional on-screen appearances (see the above photo, where he plays a judge presiding over the murder trial of dog plastic surgeon Dr. Armond.) Prior to those shows, he worked on shows like "The Life & Times of Tim," "Lipstick Jungle," "The John Larroquette Show" and "What About Joan." Read on to learn how he came to work on these shows and how they work. You can follow John on Twitter here.

What was the first gig that broke you into TV writing, and how did you get it?
I have at least two origin stories. After college, my comedy troupe came out to L.A. and we put on a show. My writing partner and I got some attention and we got an agent. But it was through an acquaintance of my partner's father that we got our material into the hands of Michael Nesmith, who had just won the first Grammy for video for Elephant Parts, a mix of comedy and music. He read our sketches quickly and hired us right away. Our biggest project for him was a show called "Television Parts." We wrote short films for stand-up comics, including Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Bob Goldthwaite, Whoopi Goldberg, Garry Shandling, Arsenio Hall and some who are still good friends of mine--Jonathan Schmock and Jim Vallely (The Funny Boys) and Taylor Negron.

That all started when I was about 22 years old. It was when I was in my mid 30s and had been out of work for a couple years that I went to grad school [to study psychotherapy.] I had no real writing prospects at that time, but I wrote a "Seinfeld" spec with Jim Vallely's encouragement, who was then writing shows for Witt/Thomas, including "Golden Girls." He said he would need it so he and Jonathan could hire me if they got a show. This seemed unlikely to me. Their show "Brotherly Love" did get on the air, and they did hire me, in spite of resistance from the studio, network, and young writing assistants who had been paying dues and rightfully expected to get a staff writing job over an older would-be therapist.

I was good at the job, and Witt/Thomas pretty quickly moved me over to "The John Larroquette Show," where I first worked for Mitch Hurwitz. But that first year, I would not drop out of grad school because I thought it would be unlucky. In my mind, I had gotten writing work because I had let go of the idea, and I thought if I really wanted it again, it would go away. So I was shooting shows late Friday night, celebrating after, and then waking up at six and going to grad school every week-end. It was a weird double life. I was the most sensitive person at Witt/Thomas and the funniest therapist in school.

"Arrested Development" was all about family: how much does the influence from or interactions with your family influence your work?
For me, the easiest stories to write are ones that are catalytic, where character's actions impact other characters' actions. Families are great for that, because they act out of a sense of scarcity--more for you is less for me. Growing up, my family was financially unstable, and my mother was emotionally fragile. So actions would tear through the family, with cascading consequences. A story I pitched on the first day at "Arrested Development" was the one where Michael won't give Gob a Bluth banana. What was funny to me about it was the family's reactions, the petty score keeping. I would have a harder time writing for a show like "Modern Family," which seems to operate more out of a sense of abundance.

"Arrested Development" obsessives were rewarded with the numerous callbacks instilled in the show. I always wanted to know how far ahead of time those were planned out (like, "Okay, we know Buster is going to lose his hand in episode X, so let's have him cuddle a stuffed seal now,") or did those get tied together on the fly?
Mitch Hurwitz called them "flash forwards." A surprising number were planned ahead. For instance, in season one, before we ever shot anything, Jim Vallely pitched that the Bluths had been building model homes in Iraq, so that ended up informing certain scenes. These jokes required discipline and self-denial on our part, because there was no moment of gratification when the audience actually laughed. They couldn't laugh when they first saw a reference, because they didn't understand it. And then, once it was explained, could they go back and laugh in retrospect? At the time, I didn't anticipate the degree to which people would rewatch episodes and get a chance to appreciate jokes that I thought were just for us.

I read in a piece about you that you weren't always a fan of the self-referential humor on the show. What were a few in-jokes or themes that you didn't adore?
I actually find the self-referential humor funny. It almost always started with a good joke, or we wouldn't have bothered to build on it. My issue is that repeated jokes and catch phrases and story points tend to take me out of the moment. One of my main jobs on the show was breaking stories. For me to do that, I needed to think of the characters as real. And they were the easiest characters I ever had to write for--their voices were so distinct. I can still hear them in my head. I tended to picture them in dramatic situations, like Gob and Michael having a big messy fight. As the show got more self-referential, it became a little harder for me to lock in emotionally, as a writer and a viewer. But it's a lot of the same stuff that the fans like the most.

Which shows, if any, have you been as obsessed about as Arrested Development viewers are about that show?
"Kung Fu," "Fernwood 2 Night," "Hill Street Blues," "'80's Lakers-Celtics," "Real World," "Seinfeld," "The Sopranos," "Game of Thrones."

Tell me about the rat sketches on "Portlandia": how did those go from conception to fruition?
Jonathan Krisel directed the first two seasons of "Kroll Show," along with being an executive producer. He also does "Portlandia," where he is the showrunner. Over the years, I've pitched in and helped out a bit on Portlandia as a writer, not much at all, maybe ten days total. So when he and Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein and Karey Dornetto came up with the rat cartoon idea, and Krisel suggested casting me, they knew who I was (Karey also wrote for "Kroll Show" and first worked for me at "The Life and Times of Tim," which is where I originally met Nick Kroll). Why did Krisel suggest me? He likes amateurs as much as he likes actors. He thinks I'm funny. But that part was basically a gift. The execution was a dream. I would sit at a microphone and talk with Fred and Carrie. Six months later, there would be a cartoon. We made a few.

I think the editing on "Kroll Show" is one of my favorite elements of it. At what stage is it decided that a funny sound effect or graphic element will be added in?
Our editors, Bill Benz and Dan Longino, take a lot of bold swings in their first cuts. On set, I often collect extra material, having no idea how they will use it. They are very facile with graphics and sound effects and know reality shows, inside and out. They trained under Krisel and started out as his proxy on "Kroll Show," when he would go off to do Portlandia. But now they bring their own sensibilities to the show as well. Nick is a big presence in editing. He goes through each sketch multiple times. It's gotten to the point that Doctor Armond lines feel naked to Nick without sound effects. And editing is my favorite part of the process. I started out, in the 1980s, as a sketch writer for Michael Nesmith, and I would also edit for him, on old ¾ inch video machines, back in the day when you lost a generation every time you changed something. I no longer edit but I am there every day in post production. How many graphics are scripted? A little less than half maybe. How many sound effects? Five percent? Our scripts are not sound-effect heavy.

What were your favorite TV shows, before you got your start, that made you want to become a TV writer?
"Seinfeld" was the show that made me want to be a TV writer, because it was a kind of writing I thought I could do. Up until that point, I hadn't really felt that way about sitcoms. I had written sketches or screenplays but never half-hours.

Who have been your favorite guest stars who appeared on "Portlandia"?
Jason Sudeikis. Kumail Nanjiani. I was in Portland for Bill Hader's bit as an Australian on walkabout and wrote some of it the night before. I don't think I've ever laughed so much on set. I ruined a couple shots.

How much to TV writers and producers read online recaps and reactions?
More than is good for us.

You have a very impressive educational background. What did you learn from your time in grad school (either in the classroom or even outside it) that helped you with your current career?
Well, I went to Yale as an undergraduate. I didn't go to grad school to become a therapist until I was in my mid 30s. I hadn't made any money as a writer in a while and was trying to figure out how to piece together a career or two. It was not a good grad school. But it did help with my natural inclination as a writer to think about what makes families tick. I went for a year and a half. Technically, I am on a leave of absence.

I also read that you majored in economics, which is relevant to me at this moment because, for work, I need to learn a lot about economics in a short amount of time. Economist and TV producer seem miles apart: do you still follow or have an interest in the field, if in an amateur way?
I was never interested in Economics. I have a math aptitude, which is how I got into college. But once I was there, I started putting on comedy reviews with my best friend Michael Kaplan, who ended up being my writing partner for about ten years. I didn't want to put any effort into academics. Economics was a means to an end. It was easy math and required little time, time better spent smoking pot and writing jokes.

What's currently on your DVR?
Justified, The Spoils of Babylon, Six by Sondheim, Million Dollar Listing, Watch What Happens Live, Kroll Show.

One thing that always seemed like a downside to television writing to me (despite the fun and profit) was that everyday people don't seem to be aware of the names of very many TV writers, even though they're the ones creating the content that fans adore. Is that something that many people work in television production struggle with or am I just projecting?
The nature of the job is that you're making other people look good. It's easier when you genuinely like the actors and/or head writers that you're working for. I'm now at a point in my career that other people make me look good. I don't write that many first drafts anymore. I'm free to think big picture and how to set up Nick for success. I give notes and punch up other people's scripts, which is more dilettantish by nature. I'm able to do this because the show has very strong draft writers, including Jon Daly, Chelsea Peretti, Joe Wengert, Gabe Liedman, Joe Mande, Christine Nangle, Carol Kolb, and Ron Funches, in addition to Nick and Krisel. We have improvisers who we barely write for at all, including John Mulaney and Jenny Slate, plus Daly and Chelsea. Nick carries tremendous pressure on his shoulders and smooths out a lot of rough spots with his improv abilities. Sometimes I don't think people realize that I'm on set as well, throwing out lines, improvising along with the actors. But on balance, I'm probably slightly overcredited, not undercredited.

Finally, what about Joan?
I had just signed an overall deal with Sony, and the first thing they did was send me to Chicago to run Joan Cusack's sitcom, which was entering its second season. The premise was flawed. Joan's character was in a relationship with Kyle Chandler and unable to believe her good fortune. There's nothing inherently dramatic about not being able to believe your good fortune. But my efforts to break them up and make Joan more of an underdog were resisted, because Kyle was so appealing. Joan was great and I would love to work with her again. I never weighed more than when I lived in Chicago.

How does it feel to be the 375th person interviewed for Zulkey.com?
It's not an easy number to rationalize in a way that makes me feel special. The mind goes to the other 374. If we were getting married and that was how many men you had been with, I might say that's a lot and bring it up in fights every now and then. But I guess that's the kind of shit I have to learn to put up with if I want to get my name out there and start getting cast as assistant principals, which I do want desperately. So thank you.